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Good God!
Meet: Prometheus Prometheus is the Greek god of fire, intellect, and champion of mankind. He and Epimetheus, brothers and both Titans, were tasked with creating man. “Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into his clay figure,” according to greekmythology.com. The Olympians banished most of Prometheus’ family to Tartarus, leading Prometheus to love man more than the twelve Olympians – so much so that he tricked Zeus who had demanded man sacrifice a portion of all foods to the gods. The story is told that Prometheus wrapped bones in fat, and hid the best meats inside a hide. By choosing the bones, Zeus had to…
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SpellCrafting: Spells for Witches
SpellCrafting: Starting Beltane Fires Merry meet! This issue’s WitchCrafting column has ideas for making fire starters. If you’d like to take it one step further, you can craft them as a spell. Beltane themes such as burning away that which no longer serves your highest good and greatest joy, planting seeds, and nurturing goals can be incorporated when making fire starters. For instance, toilet paper tubes stuffed with dryer lint can be decorated with Beltane colors (green, soft pink, blue, yellow, red, brown), pictures of flowers in bloom, or a sigil made for a specific intention. On it you can write what you are ready to release, what you desire…
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WitchCrafting: Crafts for Witches
Crafts for Witches: Fire Starters Merry meet. Beltane is one of the fire festivals. The word Beltane translates roughly to “bright fire” and in Celtic tradition, the most important ritual was the sacred community bonfire lit at sunset the evening before. (Celtic days went from sundown to sundown.) Festivities focused on casting off winter’s darkness and celebrating the start of summer. It’s also a time of celebrating fertility You can start your fire with items you likely already have on hand. Perhaps the easiest and least expensive fire starters are made by filling cardboard toilet paper tubes with loosely packed dryer lint. Use two or three to start a fire.…
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May Day Fire: An Ode to An Mórrígan
Burning in me I feel Beltaine fires Changing the season The reason For moving and trying so hard My tears won’t quench this fire My fear won’t scare it away My howls bring laughter Strong and clear Yet never mocking Stand in the circle Grasp the sword’s blade Heft the rock The whetstone Sharpen it, sharpen it, sharpen it Now make the cuts Forge your path Feel the fire burn Six months from Samhain Either way But now we stand We yearn We burn Then rise anew While Her laughter rings out Kind, clear, and true. *Image: Bonfire on the beach photo by Hans Isaacson on Unsplash **…
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GoodGod!
Meet the Gods: Loki With the renewed interest in Norse mythology, Loki has gained popularity. Today he is typically portrayed as mischievous and self-serving, yet charming and lovable. While he’s sometimes an antagonist, he’s rarely a bad guy. In Norse mythology, he is all that and more; he is know as the cunning trickster god, sometimes getting the Æsir (gods of the principal Norse pantheon including Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Bald) in trouble, other times getting them out. The son of the giant Farbauti and brother to Thor, Loki is most often in male form, but does not follow gender norms and changes both his sex and…
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GoodGod!
Meet the Gods: Hephaestus Hephaestus (prounounced heh-fay-stus) was the Greek god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges, and sculptures. He was the blacksmith for the gods, and made all Olympus’ weapons. His Roman counter part is Vulcan. He was said to be the son of Zeus and Hera, and it’s said his deformity and ugliness disgusted one or both his parents enough to throw him off Mount Olympus. He landed in the sea and was rescued by sea nymphs who raised him in an underwater cave. It’s there he began to craft metal. Hephaestus had his own palace on Olympus where he invented methods of automatons of metal…
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Book Review – Pagan Portals: Seeking the Primal Goddess-The Magic and Mystery of the Hearth Fire by Mélusine Draco
Book Review Pagan Portals Seeking the Primal Goddess The Magic and Mystery of the Hearth Fire by Mélusine Draco 96 Pages The opportunity to review this book peaked my curiosity due to my recently growing interest in studying ancient goddess cultures within European traditions from historical, anthropological, and archaeological lenses. Draco’s book is an interesting blend of locating the goddess across history as well as in modern pagan practices. I especially enjoyed the sections on the hearth fire’s connection with the goddess and–in my interpretation of this section–an undercurrent of feminism that has endured through the ages. The images that sprung to my mind of women tending sacred…
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Peeking in the Shadows: Crafting a Book of Shadows and Light
Starting Your Book of Shadows: Part Three Some Docs To Get You Going And Some Time In Magickal Contemplation Last month we discussed and enacted a ritual of dedication for your Book of Shadows. Now you are ready to begin filling it with your goodies. This month I’m going to give you some traditional writings that you may want to include in your BOS. (photo by Angelina Litvin on Unsplash) Begin with your own writing. Spend some time thinking about how you would like your BOS to serve your growth. What “mission” will it serve as part of your journey? Is there a specific Deity that you would like…
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MagickalArts
Creating Sacred Space The Experience of Sacred Space makes possible the “founding of the world”: where the sacred Manifests itself in space, the real unveils itself, and the world comes into existence … Mircea Eliade … What is Sacred Space? Read and re-read the quote above. Take it into your space of meditation. Analyze, dissect and observe it from all angles, perspectives and meaning. Try to feel the weight and breath of its meaning and allow the words to gently wash over you. Digest it and then simply sit with the feeling of satiety its inner essence provides. And, once you have done these things, redo them, one by…
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Celebrating The Old Ways In New Times
Celebrating The Old Ways In New Times for April 2020 Bright Blessings! Before we know it, Beltane will be upon us, and many will be going to gatherings where Maypole is danced, and emphasis on sexuality, and the union of the Mother Goddess and Father God are celebrated. Talk about fertility, union, and all things about growth will abound! I’ve gone to multiple celebrations, all of which often have a focus on the union of things to reproduce. But the older I get, and the more people I meet, the more I realize, THIS, in particular does not apply to all people… Now, sure, we all celebrate the…